Hora Prima
by morningsong101
Summary: What if Taylor didn't come through the portal alone? It's funny how in the darkness of the world he left behind, he never fully appreciated how beautiful Wash is. The line between commander and subordinate is blurring. How can they resist?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue. I don't own Terra Nova nor will I make any profit from writing this, and neither do you. (Ah, poetry at it's finest.)

**Prologue**

Taylor looked over his team one last time. Wash was right next to him, as she has been since just a few months after she was recruited to his team in Somalia all those years ago. There was Guzman, Mitchell, Parker, and Johanna. They all stared mesmerized by the swirling blue vortex before them. There were more to his group, but it was Wash, Guzman, Mitchell, Parker, and Johanna that Nathaniel trusted the most. His inner circle, so to say.

"Alright, folks, listen up." Taylor said loudly. They immediately snapped to attention like Taylor knew they would. "You will wait three counts before crossing into that portal. It is likely that you will be disoriented upon arrival, you may even be sick." No one even batted an eyelash. Slight sickness was nothing new to anyone here. "I trust that you have each carefully read the booklets given to you. If not...start now. There's no telling what may come at you while you are down, just that it will be big, reptilian, and hungry."

And that's where the nervous glances started. Everyone was aware that they were heading into a world ruled by dinosaurs, but even Taylor had to admit that the flesh eating monsters worried him. But just slightly. He had a gun, a nice big one that could do everything from stun to kill.

"I suppose there's not much else to say, except see you on the other side." he said.

The muttering started up again.

"Wash." Taylor said. The small, black haired woman stood impossibly straight even though she was weighed down by her pack and medical pack, a fierce, determined look on her face.

"Sir?" she asked.

"I'll expect you to be the first there after me. Guzman," Taylor said. The young man copied Wash, standing straight with a brave look on his face. "you be sure to be right behind her. Mitchel, stay with the others until about half of the recruits have passed through. Parker and Johanna, take up the rear." he ordered.

Of course, they'd gone over this before, but habit and experience made Taylor repeat these orders.

"Yes, sir." the five of them said.

"Portal, activated." a female voice on the intercom said. "Portal, activated."

"Alright, let's get a move on this, then." Taylor announced. He gave a final nod to his team and faced the swirling blue mass of light.

"Be careful, sir." he heard Wash say quietly. He wasn't sure if he was meant to hear it, but he answered anyway.

"Always am, Wash." he said.

He heard an unlady-like snort behind him and grinned.

One step and then another. His third step brought him to the doormat of Terra Nova. Taylor steeled his nerves and took the final step.

**M'kay. This is my first attempt at a multi-chapter story. I have two other Terra Nova stories, but they're one-shots (The Spider Song and The Thank You Card). Someone said they would like me to do a longer story...and this idea has simmered in my brain for a short while. The chapters will be longer than this, keep in mind this is just a prologue.**

**Anyways, I love Wash and Taylor fanfics. Who else is just waiting for the screenwriters to take the hint to start heating things up between them? :)**

**I'll post chapter one soon! Remember: reviews are always loved! And so are story alerts!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 2**

Like all other human beings, Taylor couldn't remember what it felt like to be born. But he had seen his son be born and could remember the small human gasping for breath and the loud wails that came along with such a task.

Going through the portal seemed like being born, then. Painful. Loud. Try as he might to stand up and lift his sonic gun, he couldn't. His chest burned as fresh, clean oxygen forced it's way in and out with each ridiculously loud breath. Taylor couldn't quite see properly, his vision was more than a little blurry, but that matter was cleared up after a moment.

Taylor pushed himself up, and with his gun at the ready, studied his surroundings.

The world around him was alive. The ground was claimed by dark brown dirt and the trees around him stood high, thick, and strong. Large green leaves hung from their branches, lush and healthy. Taylor had seen few trees in his lifetime, and most of them were stunted, ugly dying things that Taylor could only feel pity or repulsion for. But these trees were beautiful.

And, dear whatever entity there may or may not be, there was sunshine. It made Taylor's skin tingle pleasantly and his black cloths felt warm on him, but not in a bad way.

He strained his eyes to see further into the woods, strained his ears to hear the slightest movement. Something moved in the corner of his eye and he quickly turned, ready to fire.

Instead it was just a butterfly. A very big yellow one, but just a butterfly none-the-less.

Taylor chuckled, feeling slightly embarrassed. He comforted himself with the knowledge that no one but him and the butterfly-though it was actually an ancestor of the rare insect, he couldn't remember the name of this species-had seen his display of defensiveness toward the insect.

With that in mind, he looked behind him. There was no mass of swirling blue, no ominous light. Just more forest. Jungle, actually.

This he didn't mind. However, what he did mind was that no one was following him. There had been plenty of time for Wash to come through. Where was she?

Taylor looked around again when he heard a snarl to his right. The trees around him were less dense. He shouldn't wait here in the open. With one last look at the space behind him, Taylor jogged to a tree, secured the strap that held his gun around his chest, and pulled himself up, climbing expertly. He settled a few feet up in the nook between stump and branch and watched the clearing with his gun at the ready. If the snarling creature came too close to the clearing as Wash came through, he'd shoot the damn thing. But for now, he didn't want the scent of blood to draw in every other meat eating dino within fifty miles.

He waited with anticipation of seeing his first dinosaur or seeing Wash. This wasn't suppose to take so long for her to come through. In fact, a small handful other pilgrims should already be here by now. That's what he'd been told, anyways.

Unfortunately for Taylor, neither of the two appeared by late noon. He'd seen maybe a dozen bugs and insects, but nothing else.

Perhaps Wash was lucky not to be coming through the portal-because Taylor was not in a good mood. He was stiff after hours of waiting and he was becoming restless, though his military training ensured he didn't do something stupid, like start wondering around. But, he would need to figure something out for the night, which was approaching too quickly for comfort.

"Damn it, Wash." he growled. What the hell had gone wrong? Did the portal close on Wash and Guzman? "Where the hell are you?"

Okay, yelling at Wash and Guzman when neither of them were there wasn't as satisfying as yelling at Wash and Guzman when they was there, Taylor decided. Not that they got yelled at often, they exceptional soldiers.

The point was that they weren't there for him to yell at to begin with.

Taylor could picture in his head what was going on on the other side. The portal was closed, maybe the equations used to open it had failed. A regime of scientist and mathematicians and engineers were laboring away the hours while the other pilgrims waited. His team, Johanna, Parker, Mitchell, Wash, and Guzman, would undoubtedly be pestering the intellectuals. He almost pitied the poor men and women that got in Wash's way. Especially when she paced. She once nearly ran him over when she was pacing, it was Guzman who had pulled her back before she left bootprints on Taylor.

The sun began setting and with it so did the warmth. While there was still light out, Taylor fished from his pack for a flashlight-though he didn't really plan on using it, unless it was absolutely necessary for him to turn on the eye catching light-, a thick jacket, and gloves. It was a bit too warm for the jacket yet, but it might get freezing later, so he used it to cushion his body against the rough bark for now.

Taylor did have a watch, and he looked at it frequently, pressing the small button to turn the numbers red. He had arrived in the past at about eight thirty. It was now nearly seven. More than ten hours of waiting, of switching trees, and watching bugs pass him by. His stomach felt empty, but Taylor decided to save his food for later, though he did sip at his canteen of water.

He was going to have to do something tomorrow, because he hated waiting. Patience was not a virtue Taylor was known for.

He rested his eyes, though remained alert, for the majority of the night. He did doze some, but usually some rustling would wake him. He would point his gun toward the sound, futilely strain his eyes, and listen. Then he would check his watch, growl in frustration, and the cycle would start all over again.

When dawn came, Taylor was mostly asleep. When he did wake up, he glared at the sky, angry for missing his first sunrise. Of course, that sounded ridiculous, but Taylor was curious about whether the sunrise here and the sunrise in 2142 differed. He pushed aside the trivial thoughts and focused on his situation.

Nearly twenty four hours had passed.

This was why he was the first to go through. If something went wrong, he could handle it. He was Commander Nathaniel Taylor. Somalia, the Influenza of 2137, the death of Ayani...he had handled them all and came out somewhat in one piece. Now was the Terra Nova Project.

He could stay here and continue waiting or he could start scouting. That's what the plan was, anyways. Learn about the land, find the right place for Terra Nova to be built. Just because he didn't have his team behind him didn't mean he was incapable of finding for himself some use.

Taylor waited just another two hours for it to get brighter before he climbed down with his pack on his back, gun on his shoulder, and a knife in hand.

He raised the knife and brought it down swiftly on the tree bark. Once then twice, just to make sure it was noticeable. If anyone arrived while he was gone, they would see this and know he had been here.

However, what he hadn't thought of was the sap. It oozed out of the stab wound, dark brown and amber. He was reminded of his stomach when he looked at it. Hesitantly, Taylor swiped a finger in in before bringing it to his lips, hoping it wouldn't be poisonous. The taste was sweet and Taylor grinned. It was a little like syrup, but at the same time, not. He scooped more sap onto his fingers and sucked, enjoying it. He memorized the look of the tree and spotted a few more like it nearby. If he was ever joined by the other pilgrims, he would definitely have them try this. Assuming it wasn't slow-acting poison, of course.

After eating a fair share of the sap, he set out, marking a few trees here and there so he'd remember which way he had come. He took long strides, feeling stiff after sitting in trees. The warm air tasted as delicious as the sap, and Taylor took many moments just to concentrate on the feeling of breathing.

By noon it was clear that he was no where near a break in the trees. With his size, he couldn't climb up the trees to the top, the branches got too thin. That's not to say he didn't try once or twice to climb high enough to see over the treetops, though.

The only other non-bug creature that Taylor encountered was a small sort of lizard that darted away before Taylor could truly tell what species it was. He started heading back late afternoon, knowing he wouldn't make it back before dark. That was fine, though. Taylor found a tree similar to the one he had eaten the sap from and made camp there when it begun to get dark.

Jacket on, flashlight and gun at the ready, Taylor settled in for the night.

TN TN TN

Wash stumbled to the ground after coming through the portal, feeling as though she'd just been squeezed through an opening too small for even her to slip through. She gasped for breath, every inch of her on fire. Her eyes watered unbearably and habit made her wipe at them to erase all evidence of teary eyes. When she got herself under control, she looked up, expecting to see the face of her commander looking back at her.

She looked around. Even in the dark, she could tell; there was no one there.

Wash called out. "Commander Taylor?"

**Yes, this chapter lacked TaylorxWash-ness. I am very sorry for that, but I wanted to capture just a little of Taylor being on his own and drawing his own conclusions. But, this means that Wash will be showing a lot of her 'BAMF' side (it's commonly described that way, I didn't just decide to call it that all on my own) until she and Taylor reunite. That's a plus, right?**

**For anyone interested, I have a theory as for why only one person came through at first. The time fracture, when first discovered, was small. Imagine a piece of paper. You poke a hole through it-there's the initial fracture. You take a sharpie or something with a bigger tip (the probe), and force that through the fracture. Then, you take something bigger, like a finger (Taylor), and poke it through. Each time the fracture gets larger. Then, say you you have ten fingers poking at the piece of paper, but in the wrong place. They have nothing to go through and pretty much blindly find their way to the fracture. I think that, while Wash did find the fracture, she might have tripped into it or slide through it the wrong way. I hope I'm making sense here.**

**I'll post probably later this week or early next week. Remember, reviews are always loved, even if their flames (though please don't burn me to the point of death). Constructive criticism is more than welcome.**

**p.s. Who do you guys think the spy is?**


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Wash had proven many times in her life that she would do anything to save the life of her commander. But there were times when she felt she would kill him herself. The amount of times she felt this were directly proportional to the number of times he went gallivanting into danger.

Rather like now.

Wash viciously hacked her knife at a branch that was hanging in her path. Of course, she probably could have gone around it, like Taylor obviously did, but at the moment, she just wanted to hit something. She was alone, it was okay to show a little of her emotions.

If Taylor were here, though, she wouldn't have these emotions-frustration, anger, and the ever present fear that entered her when it was possible her friend and superior were dead or seriously injured.

Instead, he was somewhere in this goddamn jungle, leaving stupid little marks on trees to lead her to him. Why did he go wondering off? Especially when it was so late at night?

It had been early morning when she'd entered Hope Plaza, so the sudden change in time had caught her off guard. Wash didn't have a watch, but she guessed it was nearing midnight.

Another thing that caught her off guard was being entirely alone when no one came through the portal after her. So she got out the pair of night vision goggles she'd bought a few years ago in Asia and used them to look for her absent leader, because she did _not_ have the patience to wait around. If the other pilgrims arrived while she was hunting Taylor down, then Guzman could handle them until they returned.

Wash didn't have a clue why they weren't there. Taylor had gone through the portal, Wash had waited the three counts before crossing Terra Nova's threshold, and then she came through. Yes, she felt like absolute crap when she came through, but slight sickness was to be expected. It had all gone according to plan.

Wash paused, slowly grabbing her gun with one hand and sheathing her knife with the other. Maybe she was being paranoid, in fact, it was very possible. Then again, it was very possible that there was actually something nearby. Night was a good time for hunting food, not for hunting absent commanders. She had been stupid to go looking for him right now.

She sighed and looked at the nearest tree, trying to calculate whether she could reach the-relative-safety of it's high branches before whatever was probably hunting her got to her. She looked around her first, trying to find it. Whatever it was. The only piece of it she spotted was a tail, but that disappeared from view, too. The tail was close to ground, though, so the creature couldn't be too big. Wash heard it then; a small hiss. She turned and made a break for it, hauling herself up the side of the tree. Below her the creature slide on the dirt, snarling and hissing. Wash didn't stop to look down at it, choosing instead to climb further up.

Close to the top she panted. Her hands stung, and Wash knew she had acquired a number of splinters in her hasty climb. She peered down from her perch and between the branches at her stalker.

The komodo dragon looked pissed. It's tail whipped back and forth as it paced below her, mouth dripping with saliva. It reminded her of a rapid bear or lion, even though it easily outdid them in size. It's roar sounded nothing either of the mammal's sounds. It was rougher and grated on her eardrums; it honestly made her a little frightened. But only at first. She squashed the fear before it took claim of her.

For what seemed like hours the komodo dragon paced around the tree, occasionally making vicious sounds and staring up at her. The book about dinosaurs she'd been given said that komodos were likely easily scared off. If it stuck around, Wash planned to scare the life out of it. The only question was what level she'd want to to turn her gun on to.

She didn't sleep, didn't even doze. She felt proud of this as the sun began to rise and the scaly creature sulked away and out of sight.

From up here, Wash had a pretty good view of the sunrise. It started as a glow in the west and turned the black sky to vibrant orange, then yellow. It was captivating. Wash had seen many sunrises before, but none like this. In 2142 the sky was almost always this dull, rust-like color, except when it was stormy gray. Here the sky became blue. It was like in the movies from the 21st century.

She hadn't removed the splinters during the night even with her goggles on. She searched through her medicine pack for tweezers and set out to finish the task, grimacing the entire time. Splinters weren't the worst thing she'd endured, but they were still a irritating to have. She finished by pouring just the smallest bit of anti-septic over the areas that had the bigger splinters.

Wash sipped at her water and nibbled just little on her supply of food, taking just a few crackers to tide her over. She remembered the dry sap that came out of the stab marks that Taylor had left and inspected the tree she was in. It was, if she remembered correctly, a sort of ancestor of the sycamore tree. She studied a leaf. Definitely an ancestor of the sycamore. Taking her knife, she carved out a hole and collected some of the sap, putting it in a container for safekeeping. She tasted it and almost smiled at the sugary taste. She dipped her last cracker in it and enjoyed.

The guys would love this. Especially Mitchell, who had a weakness for sugary foods. If Taylor hadn't already figured it out, she'd make sure he tried it. But first she had to find the man.

She'd already removed her goggles when the sunrise begun, so she put them back in her pack and put on her gloves. She wasn't going to get splinters if she had a way to avoid them. She stretched and stood, placing one pack over both her shoulders, and tightened her medicine pack strap so it was secured around her waist. With her knife sheathed on her side and gun strapped over her shoulder, she begun the precarious climb down.

The komodo had gone somewhere to the east, and she was going north. But she was ready for it to come back. Or if some other creature came along.

She followed the carvings on the trees as the sun rose higher in the sky. It was nearing noon before she began to notice something. Her direction was turning. West, not east, at least. But turning. Like a loop. She felt her heart drop.

"What the hell, Taylor?" she muttered. He had made a loop. Who the hell makes a _loop_-well, him obviously. "Damn it." she said. The loop headed back towards where the portal had deposited her. She came all this way...and they passed each other.

She stepped up the pace, wanting to find the man. First he goes exploring-by himself, without her or his team-and then he purposely sets up this game of follow the leader and doesn't even stay on one track.

Sometimes, Wash was sure the Commander wanted to drive her insane. Just see how much worry she can handle and then decide to hell with it and push her over the edge.

This was definitely one of those moments where Wash wondered if she would just kill him herself.

** I've realized it is impossible for me to stick with a schedule of posting chapters. It's like I finish one chapter and I just have to post it right away. Oh well. Enjoy. :)**

** Let's see, Wash is evading a prehistoric komodo dragon and hunting down Taylor, while Taylor is jumping at butterflies and making himself the target of a woman's anger. Anyone get the feeling that Taylor sort of got cheated on the grand Terra Nova experience?**

**Just in case: this isn't going to be an immediate romance sort of story. As the genre label-thing says, it's also adventure. Because they are Taylor and Wash, they're going to take their sweet time getting to the point where they realize they even like each. Simply because they are Taylor and Wash.**

** Reviews are always loved! (Seriously, I love checking my inbox and seeing reviews, so don't be shy.)**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Wash used the hike back to reign in her irritation. When she faced the Commander-hopefully alive-, she would be subordinate. She would not kill the man herself. It was her job to make sure he was alive.

The sun was high in the sky and its heat beat against her in waves, even down at the jungle floor. Underneath the weight of her dark armor and heavy bags, Wash was hot and uncomfortable. She'd be damned, though, if she was going to take off her armor. It wasn't the first time Wash had chosen safety over comfort. She tried sucking on tree sap most of the day to distract herself from the discomfort, but after a while her stomach got tired of the constant sweetness and she didn't dare use up her water supply in an attempt to get rid of the taste.

She didn't recognize her surroundings, merely followed Taylor's little clues. She was ducking under a tree branch when she heard a noise directly above her head. A twig snapping.

Wash's instincts kicked into overdrive as she felt more than saw something come at her from above. She darted away from the tree trunk and twisted her head to see what it was, only spying a blur of black before whatever it was-and, damn it, she had a good idea already-tackled her to the ground. It was an awkward fall, her pack taking most of the impact. It was a reflex to fire up her gun and aim while it took that second to charge up.

Her arm was twisted, not enough to cause pain, but mild discomfort, before she got the chance. She felt her fury return as her arms were wrestled into submission.

But him? Taylor looked smug as the cat who caught the canary. He was grinning triumphantly at her, an unusually open expression on his face that was both relieved and smug.

Wash glowered at him.

"Lieutenant." Taylor said.

Wash huffed out a breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding and regretted it. The motion caused just the tiniest bit of friction between her chest and his. Nothing that hadn't happened before during sparring matches or when hiding in a small space from soldiers who wanted to kill them. But it distracted her from being pissed at him.

"I'm glad to see you're here. And alive." Taylor continued, obviously oblivious to Wash's train of thought.

"Sir." Wash said curtly. After years of service, she had gotten pretty good at keeping her composure, particularly in front Taylor.

Taylor leaned back and gave Wash a moment check over him, a habit of hers.

He was in perfect condition. Not a scratch or a speck of blood marred his tanned skin-something entirely unusual for the man. He _always_ had blood on him. The only thing even that seemed out of place was his hair. His salt and pepper-mostly salt-hair was sticking this way and that. Wash might have laughed, had she been in a humorous mood.

"What happened? Where are the others?" Taylor asked, releasing her wrists. His wary glancing about didn't go unnoticed and Wash found herself checking the area as well. There was nothing coming at them, they were safe for the moment.

"I don't know." Wash answered obediently. "I came out of the portal alone, sir."

Taylor frowned and stood up, offering her his hand to help her up. Wash turned her glower to the offending gesture and, almost clumsily, got into a standing position. Taylor shrugged and dropped his gloved hand.

"What time?" he asked.

"Yesterday, sometime before moonrise, sir." she said, steeling her resolve to be subordinate.

"What happened on the other side?" he continued.

"What do you mean?" she asked, though she had an idea what he meant. She had spent a little time wondering if there had been a glitch and, if there was, what the intellectuals were doing about it. Terra Nova couldn't be built by Taylor and herself alone.

"What happened after I went through the portal?" he asked.

"Nothing that wasn't planned, sir."

Taylor nodded. "How far from here did you land?" he asked with vague interest.

Wash looked around, trying to tell if this was the location she where she had landed. "I landed the same place you did, sir."

"Then why weren't you here when I got back?" Taylor asked.

"I was looking for you." Wash deadpanned.

"In the dark? Good grief, Lieutenant, what were you thinking?" Taylor asked, voice heavy with disapproval.

Wash raised her eyebrows at him and felt her hand move to hips. It was rather insubordinate, but this pose never seemed to bother Taylor. "I was thinking about finding my wondering commander, sir." She didn't hesitate to sound just as disproving as he did.

"I was scouting, Wash."

"Of course you were." Taylor raised an eyebrow at the sour comment. Wash remembered her resolution to be subordinate and forced herself to look humbled. "Sir." she added.

"Well, at least you look uninjured. Did you come across any trouble?" Taylor asked.

Wash nodded, willing to let it go for the moment. "I was given the pleasure of coming across komodo dragon."

Another look over. "No contact with it's saliva?"

Wash shook her head. "No."

"Good." Taylor said. "Can't have you dying on me already, lieutenant."

Wash nodded.

"What happened to the bugger, though? What was it like?" he asked.

Wash remembered the rapid-in her opinion, anyway. Was it possible for dinosaurs to be rapid? She didn't think so.-beast, it's enormous size and the sound of it's roars.

"It wondered to the east, sir. It's like the books say."

Taylor rolled his eyes and rested back against a tree. "But what about in person?"

"It's...very loud, sir. And bigger than a lion." It was real. Not like in the textbooks. It was the real thing.

"Hmm. Was it vicious?" he pressed.

"More persistent than vicious." Wash decided. "Sir, did you meet anything?"

Taylor made a face. "No, Wash. Sounds like you've had all the fun."

Wash scowled. Though it paled in comparison to the look on Taylor's face as a large butterfly-like creature fluttered between them.

Wash didn't wonder why, with the new possibility that her Commander hated butterflies, the butterfly was her favorite insect.

**Okay, I don't like this chapter. Simple as that. Just for some reason, it didn't want to be written, but I really wanted to update. I planned on writing a lot more for this chapter, but I felt like I wanted to update. So...yep.**

**So the butterfly makes another appearance. It's like its species is just mocking Taylor. And I want to just say now that I don't know pretty much anything about trees. I get my information on Google, but if I write something wrong, feel free to correct me. That pretty much goes for everything, from trees to dinosaurs to military codes and regulations.**

**As usual, I love reviews and story alerts. And constructive criticism is always welcome.**


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